Tragic Train Collision Claims Lives of Seven Elephants in Assam

Incident Overview

In a heartbreaking incident early Saturday morning, a train struck a herd of elephants in Assam's Hojai district, resulting in the deaths of seven elephants and injuring one, as reported by a forest official.

Fortunately, no passengers aboard the train were harmed during the collision.

Rohini Ballave Saikia, who was en route to the scene, noted that the engine and five coaches of the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed due to the impact.

The Northeast Frontier Railway confirmed that the collision occurred at 2:17 AM in the Jamunamukh-Kampur area, approximately 126 kilometers from Guwahati.

An accident relief train, along with officials from the divisional headquarters, has been dispatched to the location, according to a railway statement.

Passengers affected by the incident have been temporarily relocated to available berths in other coaches.

The railway authorities indicated that the accident took place outside of a designated elephant corridor.

“The locopilot noticed the herd and applied emergency brakes,” the statement read. “However, the elephants collided with the train. Trains scheduled to travel through that area are being rerouted via the UP line.”

Restoration efforts are currently in progress, as stated by the Northeast Frontier Railway.

Suhas Kadam, the divisional forest officer for the Nagaon forest division, informed that three of the deceased elephants were adults.

“One calf has sustained injuries,” Kadam mentioned. “We are performing post-mortems on all the carcasses.”

Kadam also indicated that the accident might have been caused by dense fog conditions.